Thursday Tampa Bay Rays owner Stu Sternberg ended his chances of ever getting a new home in the area he sent ripples all around the sports community both locally and on a national scale.
Sternberg announced that the franchise will not proceed with a proposed $1.3 billion to create a new stadium in the historic Gas Plant district in St. Petersburg. The Rays owner shocked partners his in the City of St. Petersburg and Pinellas County, who had put together $700 million in a deal signed by all parties in July 2024.
The deal was missing documents the Rays had until March 31st to sign before the $700 million dollars offer would have been withdrawn. So, the Rays change of heart kills the deal. In the meantime, the Rays will play the 2025 season in Tampa at Steinbrenner Field, and they hope to get Tropicana Field in place for the 2026 season.
As you might expect government officials in St. Petersburg, Pinellas County, Rays fans, Major League baseball were very upset. So are owners in the NBA, NFL, NHL, MLS and other sports who now will have a tougher time getting public finding. The trust factors that are so very important in the doing deals for new sports stadiums and arenas will be much more difficult.
Sternberg’s actions will no doubt make life more difficult for Kansas City Royals who after the Rays deal was inked in July just two weeks later in August unveiled two options for a new $1 billion Royals baseball stadium as part of an overall $2 billion development. As for the Athletics deal in Las Vegas in remains in limbo while Arizona, Milwaukee, and the Los Angeles Angels are at least exploring the possibilities for new ballparks.
MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred is in Japan for the opening of the season with the Dodgers and the Cubs. But his office was quick to respond. “Major League Baseball remains committed to finding a permanent home for the club in the Tampa Bay region for their fans and the local community,” MLB said in a statement. “Commissioner (Rob) Manfred understands the disappointment of the St. Petersburg community from today’s announcement, but he will continue to work with elected officials, community leaders, and Rays officials to secure the club’s future in the Tampa Bay region.”
While Manfred represents the Rays, he also speaks for all of all the MLB owners. He has said to a number of political and business leaders in both Tampa and St. Petersburg that he wanted the Rays deal to get done. MLB wants the team in the Tampa Bay area, not Orlando, Nashville, or Montreal. I expect the commissioner to return to the area and make sure that the Rays stay and that may mean a new owner.
How committed is Manfred to keeping the team in the Bay Area? The Athletic reported that the commissioner and other MLB owners are trying to convince Sternberg to sell and threatening to take away some of the Rays’ revenue-sharing income to force a sell the team to local owners.
There are at least four local ownership groups who want to by the Rays and keep them in Tampa. Just about a week ago the first person to go public was Tampa businessman Joe Molloy. A Tampa native and former managing partner of the New York Yankees, told the Tampa Bay Times on Sunday that he is leading one of the groups. The Athletic reported one of the investors is Eddie DeBartolo Jr., a businessman with longtime Tampa ties and former owner of NFL’s San Francisco 49ers.
A couple of other potential ownership groups are Tampa businessman Dan Doyle Jr. — who withdrew from a 2023 bid to purchase the Rays — is part of another interested group, per The Athletic. The third group is led by Tampa attorney Carter McCain who said he is seeking local minority ownership, per the Times.
According to a report in the Los Angels Times Sternberg has a net worth of $800 million dollars. It is clear that he simply does not have the money to make the Rays a successful off the field business. Private equity billionaire David Rubenstein recently bought the Baltimore Orioles for $1.75 billion putting a sale price for the Rays at between $1.5 and $1.7 billion dollars.
While Sternberg is getting hammered for walking away from the St. Pete deal he does warrant some credit for putting a good product on the field. No team in baseball has done more with less money than the Rays. Consider this, only the Dodgers and the Yankees have won more games over the past 15 years than the Rays.
The league will continue to push Sternberg to sell the team, and he will get close to the $2 billion dollar mark. While it could take time in the end the team will get local ownership and a ballpark in Tampa.
